Happy New 2009!

Hi Everyone,

Where did 2008 disappear to? Gees, time flies and I think I had fun.

There’s so much potential for this year for me, both life wise and writing wise. I normally don’t do resolutions because I forget them by the 10th of January, but now it’s different.

For 2009, I have a plan – and I intend to tick off the bullet points one-by-one.

For my family and friends (and blog visitors), I hope this year is one filled with health, joy, wealth, peace, more writing time and a book contract or two.

If that’s not your thing, may your bullet points be ticked off your own 2009 life plan.

All the best.
Elvina

Festive Best Wishes

I wish you and yours all the joy, luck, blessings and best wishes for a safe and Happy Festive Season.

May 2009 be one of happiness, health and prosperity.

Love
Elvina

How Times Flies (as usual)

Another few weeks have flown past in the blink of an eye.

The Angel revisions are going slowly – very slowly – as the back is still playing up and it’s hard to be creative through the pain.

Yesterday, I had a wonderful lunch with some writing buddies, celebrating birthdays past (including mine) and Christmas to come. Hours passed in seconds, with lots of gasbagging, food, laughs and presents.

Today I had some down time, watching episodes of the USA sitcom “Pushing Daisies” which is a fabulous romantic dark comedy.

I also did some chores including wrapping Christmas presents for the tree going up tomorrow. It’s bad luck to put up the tree before the 1st December, so I won’t go against tradition.

And Lord, it’s only less than four weeks to Christmas. Where did the year go? And what happened to all those things I wanted to get done?

Oh well, there’s always next year – which will be here before we know it.

If I’m quiet in the next few weeks, it’s because I want to get a certain Angel polished and off to the New York publisher who requested it.

Bye for now.
Elvina

Plugging Away

Hi Everyone,

Well, I did it. The revisions on “The Tycoon” were finished this week and the manuscript sent off to New York.

Now the waiting game…

In the meantime, I have lots to do. Need to get back into revisions for “An Angel’s Embrace” and prepare for Christmas – FIVE weeks away. I am SO not ready for it. Bah Humbug.

Today was a productive day spent with the wonderful ladies at the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild (MRWG). Lots of chatter, laughter and chocolate. Great motivation to get back to writing tomorrow.

But tonight I rest…what a busy weekend.

That’s all for now.

Elvina

A Quick Update

Hi All,

Just a quick note to update you on news.

Getting back to life after my back and leg played up, meaning two weeks in bed resting. The only good thing about that was I had hours to finish revisions on “The Tycoon’s Toughest Adversary.”

And it’s finished. Doing a final read-through and the manuscript will be mailed next week.

Still taking things easy as the back slowly gets better. Returned to work yesterday and it’s been tiring but what can you do? The bills still need to be paid, etc.

Anyway, next on the cards are the revisions on “An Angel’s Embrace.”

Will post photos of my birthday celebrations when I can, including the wonderful surprise party given by Josie, Serena and Margaret on Tuesday. A fabulous day spent with some truly beautiful and special friends.

That’s it for now.
Elvina

Party Time AKA Hitting the Big 4-0

It’s been a busy few weeks, writing wise and life wise.

And yesterday was party time with my 40th birthday.

I hadn’t planned anything (I don’t like parties) but ended up having the most perfect day.

I arrived at work to find my office filled with helium balloons. My sister Joanne (who works with me) had made it up and it looked fabulous. Will post photos asap.

The best bit was the special basket balloon she made for me. I want to go hot air ballooning as a 40th celebration and Jo made a smiley face balloon above a basket with a person in it. The card she gave me was beautiful and the little person in the basket had some money in it to add to my balloon trip fund.

The day only got better.
A manager bought me lunch.
There was a yummy coffee walnut birthday cake for afternoon tea with a big card signed by all staff; and
The Managing Director gave me a beautiful Swarovski crystal owl to add to my ever-growing owl collection (over 200 at last count). Truly gorgeous.

Last night, the family came over for a celebratory dinner which topped a perfect birthday for me.

Today was more celebrations, but now, back to reality.

Back to revisions and life in general.

Bye for now.
Elvina

Trying to Catch My Breath

Wow – where has two weeks gone?

Trying to catch my breath and it’s not just because of this blasted cold I have. Or because I’ve been running around doing errands for my poor mum, Celine, who’s in hospital with pneumonia. Get better soon, mum!

Revisions on “An Angel’s Embrace” are underway and I entered a USA competition with the revamped first chapter. Will hear late October if the judges loved or hated it.

Very pleased to report that the very talented Margaret Midwood has finished her revisions and sent them off to the HM&B UK office.

My gorgeous niece, Zahra, turned ONE (where did the year go?) on Friday.

Here are some photos of the little miss enjoying her party.




Isn't she just gorgeous!

Finally, very happy to report that tonight I received a request from Silhouette Desire for the FULL manuscript of “The Tycoon’s Toughest Adversary.” YAY!!

Will be giving it a quick read-through/revise, then it’s off to hopefully it’s new home. Yes, please!
So if you don’t hear from me (apart from the occasional scream of insanity), I’ll be deep in revising mode for the Desire AND the Angel book.

That’s it for now.
Elvina

Spring has sprung!

Arrrhhhhhh…another month. And it’s spring. And it’s only 4 months until Christmas. Arrhhhh!

Deep breaths…deep breaths.

I’ve been busy, working on “An Angel’s Embrace.” Hoping to finish it in the next few weeks and email the book off to the USA with a cyber hug & kiss for good luck.

In the meantime, I’m also helping a very, VERY talented friend get her revisions finished and her book back to Harlequin Mills & Boon UK office. Go Margaret! I have everything crossed for you.

And in between that, there’s the normal boring stuff of work, cooking, cleaning, washing, dieting and exercising (the last two I’ve been very slack with over the past months).

Bye for now.

Elvina

What a Weekend, What a Conference

I’m back after a fabulous weekend at the Langham in Melbourne.

The conference was fabulous. Workshops were educational, first sale celebrations were aplenty and catching up with old and new writer friends was fantastic.




In the left photo, Margaret Midwood and I are keeping company with the multi-published and lovely lady, Valerie Parv.

In the right photo, it's me, Margaret and another MRWG member, Rhonda Roberts.

And best of all – I did my pitch to Cindy Hwang of Berkley and she loved “An Angel’s Embrace.” She’s requested the FULL manuscript and asked for it to be emailed. So I’m doing the happy dance.

Now to finish the revisions and get “An Angel’s Embrace” to Cindy pronto.



On the Friday night, it was the cocktail party with an enchanted/magical theme. We were as fairy godmothers or good witches.

In the left photo is me, Serena Tatti, Josie Caporetto and Margaret Midwood. Our beautiful costumes were made by Josie's mum.




In the left photo is Josie, Margaret, Rhonda as Sheik Al Rhon complete with saber and flashing red rose, Lia Kamp and me.

In the right photo is the lovely Jane Beckenham from New Zealand enjoying the party with me and my tiara.



On Saturday night, we have the awards dinner and here we are all glammed up with some very talented multi-published authors. In the left photo, there is Maxine Sullivan (second from left) who writes for Silhouette Desire and in the right photo is Annie West (second from right) who writes for Harlequin Presents.




In the left photo, we have the MRWG gang with (from left): Margaret (back), Rhonda, Lia, Maxine Sullivan, Josie, Serena, me, Gail Robertson and Sara Hood.

Too soon, the weekend was over. The photo on right is us winding down and celebrating with dinner - as if we needed more food after the fabulous Langham spread.

It was a fabulous, fun conference weekend, we're already preparing for the 2009 RWA Conference in Brisbane.

Bye for now.
Elvina

Almost Here

It’s been a busy few days with the MRWG meeting on Sunday (as always, a fabulous day) and preparing for the Romance Writers of Australia conference this weekend.

Only one more work day then four days off to enjoy time with friends before, during and after the conference.

Over the weekend, I have an editor meeting to pitch my paranormal single title “An Angel’s Embrace” to Cindy Hwang of Berkley.

The blurb for the book is “Can the Angel of Death find happiness in life and love with a mortal destined to die?”

I love this book – it’s totally different to the category romance books I’ve written.

I’m hoping Cindy likes my pitch and requests a partial. Wish me luck!

Elvina

New Romance Website

On Thursday, several members of the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild attended a launch for a new romance website.











This is Kate Cuthbert, creator of the website cutting the ribbon to officially "open" the website.

It's a great website for both readers and writers alike.

Spend a few moments and visit The Romance Readers website –http://www.romancereaders.com.au/



This is (from left):
Margaret Midwood, Iris Leach and Kate Cuthbert.













Here we are (from left):
Serena Tatti, Margaret Midwood, Josie Caporetto and me!


And here we have the gorgeous Serena and her husband, Ed.


The photo on the right is Serena with Chris Weston and Josie.

And finally, here's me between the gorgeous Josie and Serena.





Wonderful ladies & great friends.

It was a good night, topped by a scrumptious dinner and some
great cocktails!

Who needs an excuse to party!

Elvina

It's Done

Hello All,

Just a quick note to say that YAY, the revisions on "The Tycoon's Toughest Adversary" are done. The book is printed and resting for a final read through and review in a few weeks.

While the waiting continues to hear back from my US editor, I’ll be busy working on my paranormal book “An Angel’s Embrace.”

I wrote this book two years ago and love it. It’s a totally different book from the ones I usually write, with a different voice and tone. And lots of death scenes – well, you would have that when Aletta is the Angel of Death.

I’ll be pitching this book to an editor at the upcoming Romance Writers of Australia conference, so I need to reacquaint myself with the story and characters.

In the meantime, I have lots of books to read and DVDs to watch.

Yes, there’s no rest for the wicked…so I must be VERY wicked.

Bye for now.
Elvina

ABBA Mania

Hi Everyone,

Revisions are going nicely, but it’s hard to concentrate with ABBA songs weaving through my thoughts and my toes tapping along as I hum.


I’m ABBA’d out. On Friday, a group of wonderful friends wanted to celebrate the gorgeous Josie’s birthday and so, we went to see BABBA.













A fabulous cover group that had us dancing around the room and singing our lungs out.
My throat has been sore ever since.

Here’s the birthday girl, Josie, looking gorgeous in red. And the equally gorgeous Serena.

In this picture, we have Sarma on the left, then me, Margaret Midwood (who is working on a fabulous book requested by Harlequin Mills & Boon UK) and Margaret’s daughter Lisa (who I hope finds some free time to return to the MRWG).

There was great food and a scrumptious dessert – but I was too hungry to take photos. Sorry!

And then yesterday, I went to see “Mamma Mia” the movie and enjoyed myself thoroughly.

I would recommend both show and movie to everyone. Hey, I might go and see them both again soon.

Okay, back to the revisions…

Bye for now.
Elvina

A Bit of This & That

Another week is here and July is almost over. Next time I blink, it will be Christmas.

Yesterday was the MRWG meeting and it was a great one. Informative workshops, fabulous company, good laughs and productive critiquing sessions. Who could ask for more?

Well, a book sale or two would be good. Hopefully, that will happen soon.

This week, I’ll be busy trying to finish my revisions and on Friday, will be singing my lungs out and dancing away with my gorgeous friends at BABBA. I can’t wait.

Only a few weeks until the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Melbourne. It will be lovely to catch up with fellow writer friends and attend some great workshops. There is a Friday night dress up cocktail party where a few of us will be dressing up in some fabulous costumes made for us. I’ll put up some photos after the conference.

That’s it for now. Back to the writing.
Elvina

Spending spree

It’s been a busy week, both at work and at home.

I’m spent the week quoting staircases at work and at night continuing revisions for my Desire books. No rest for the wicked, so I must be VERY bad! (well, not really).

In other news, I’ve been spending money. Small things like owls to add to my collection. I’ve been collecting owls before J.K. Rowling made them popular with Harry Potter and I’ve added four items to my ever-growing collection.



This is one of them. Isn’t it just gorgeous. The tapestry is quite large – 46 x 57 cms – and the stitching colours are so vibrant.












And a big purchase I made this week is this shiny new car.



Well, it’s not actually new. It’s a Hyundai Lantra with tinted electric windows, low kms and a very, very good price. It was previously owned by a family friend and was kept immaculate. Quite different to the Ford Telstra I was driving before - you can see it in the background of this picture.


I’ve been looking for a car for ages. I know nothing about cars, but wanted one that I could fall in love with immediately, had a decent boot (no hatchback for me, thanks) and a good price as well – considering I’m madly trying to save for a house. My next big purchase (one that will happen in the next year or so).

So I’m happy….despite being a bit sad to see the old car being taken away. But that lasted a few minutes until I went for a drive in my new car.

Bye for now.
Elvina

A Special Day

It was a special day yesterday with the christening of my gorgeous niece, Zahra.




Here she is on the left with me.


I am her godmother and it was pleasure to spend the special day with her and the family.




The picture on the right is Zahra with her parents, Joanne and Johnny, and big sister, Jessica.








Zahra enjoyed her special day, laughing and cooing at the priest during the church ceremony. And she didn't cry when her head was washed with holy water.

Here's Zahra enjoying her cake.

Isn’t she just adorable!

Elvina

Where has the month gone?

Gees, tomorrow’s July. Half the year has disappeared and I feel like it was only Christmas yesterday. Soon Christmas 2008 will be here.

Getting back into revisions and life in general after a great weekend away at the MRWG retreat.

A wonderful few days spent with some gorgeous ladies. We talked, ate and laughed – and learnt a thing or two about ourselves and our work in the process.

Now, we all have to finish our books so we can submit, sell and celebrate! I love parties –who doesn’t?

Elvina

Hello and Goodbye

Dropping to say hello and goodbye as I head off to the MRWG retreat in Ocean Grove. A weekend of good food, great company, lots of chatter and writing work of course.
Last year’s retreat was fabulous and I’m expecting this weekend to be the same.

The MRWG meeting was last Sunday and it was a great meeting, especially as we popped champagne (and non-alcoholic stuff) corks for a special lady who had a first sale.

I still can’t say much as she’s waiting to make it official with contracts, etc. Once she gives me the okay, I’ll let you know.

Off to finish packing and cross off the checklist. I keep thinking I’m forgetting something. Oh well…

Elvina

Just checking in

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick post to say that I’m writing (YAY) and progressing with not one BUT TWO manuscripts at the moment.

Fine-tuning “The Tycoon’s Toughest Adversary” (yes, I know it’s a typical HM&B “oh lord” title, but if it makes an editor take notice, so be it!) just in case Desire want to see the revised full manuscript (please, please, pretty please).

Also working on the revised first chapter and synopsis of “Needing You” for the MRWG retreat next week. I can’t wait.

Then it’s back to revising Danielle’s story “Take Me in Your Arms” – she’s a friend of Amanda from “The Tycoon’s Toughest Adversary” and appears in that manuscript too.

Tomorrow is the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild (MRWG) meeting and I’m sure it will be a fun and productive meeting (they all are) filled with endless laughter, chatty and of course, chocolate.

It will be a special day as there’ll be a celebration (what it is, I can’t say. Sorry, sworn to secrecy). Will tell you all about it in the next post.

Until then, be happy and safe – and keep those fingers tapping at the keyboard!

Elvina

Hello

Wow, where have the weeks gone?

It’s been a busy time, getting a new computer and loading all my files onto it (a mammoth task considering my old computer is on its last legs and being difficult, won’t let me copy certain files).

Also, happy to report that my chapters are on their way to Silhouette Desire.

Now the waiting begins – but I have lots to keep me busy in the meantime.

Revising other chapters, rehashing “Needing You” in preparation for the MRWG retreat AND helping organize the MRWG retreat.

This is the second retreat at the White House in Ocean Grove. There’ll be about 12 ladies ready to enjoy a relaxing yet productive weekend away from disruptions. We’ll be feeding the soul (both with food, book discussions and watching movies), critiquing our masterpieces and helping each other on the way to publication.

Should be lots of fun (last year’s was!) – I can’t wait.

Bye for now.
Elvina

Just Surviving

Not much happening here, due to ill health. But I’m slowly getting better and getting things back on track.




In other news, Easter was here and gone. And here are my two gorgeous nieces Jessica and Zahra enjoying the day.






Isn’t Zahra’s expression the best? Her first sighting of chocolate.










But probably not the last… She definitely takes after her Aunty V.

Catch you later!
Elvina

Busy as ever

Things are busy as ever here in the Payet household.

My revisions are coming along nicely, I’ve managed to get some ‘me time’ to watch a few DVDs and read a book or two, as well as keeping up with everyday happenings.

And tomorrow is the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild (MRWG) meeting. Where did the month go since the last meeting?

As always, the meeting will be great – catching up with a wonderful bunch of women, hearing the latest gossip and swapping writing information and of course, having lots of laughs.

And that will be the weekend over. They go too fast, don’t they?

Yay to another 4 day week, then another long weekend. I llloovvee those long weekends (but they still go too fast).

Have fun!
Elvina

Here's the Birthday Girl

Here's the gorgeous birthday girl, Jessica, with her baby sister Zahra.

Aren't they adorable...

A very biased "Aunty V"

How Time Flies...

Gees, how did two weeks disappear since my last post?

I’m sure someone is purposely speeding up the days and months just to annoy me. And it will be Easter in two weeks – where’s the year going??

I have been busy, designing and selling staircases at my day job at Slattery & Acquroff Holdings – www.stairking.com.au - and hitting the revisions at night.

I’m happy to say that things are slowly…very slowly…coming together on the book and with some long weekends coming up, I’m hoping to have a full first draft by the end of the month.

Apart from that, I’ll be helping some gorgeous people celebrate birthdays. On Saturday, my beautiful niece Jessica turned six. This Sunday, it’s my brother Paul’s birthday. And on the 25th, it’s Mum’s turn to celebrate.

With all these parties, it’s making losing weight that little bit harder. But I’m slowly heading towards my goal – another 10 kgs to go. Quite happy with what I’ve achieved – 27 kgs in about 2 years. Now if only I can find a way to enjoy waking up at 5.20am to hit the treadmill.

Have fun!
Elvina

I'm Back!

I’m back. Did you miss me?

The past few weeks have been harrowing, spending treasured moments with my godmother then watching her laid to rest. The funeral was a wonderful and fitting send off for a truly gorgeous woman. Rest in peace, Aunt Agnes.

Since then, I’ve cleared the decks (and my office desk) to get into my requested revisions, but…haven’t started them yet. Made notes regarding the heroine’s new conflict, tweaked the synopsis and figured out what scenes needed to be cut, revised or kept. Interesting stuff.

I’m hoping to finish the draft of the revised three chapters in the next two weeks, then roughly lay out the rest of the book. Once that’s done, it’s final revisions and then forwarding to ‘my’ editor at Desire. I hope she likes it.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

All the best
Elvina

Sad News

After a long battle with cancer, my beautiful godmother Agnes Hoareau died last night.

I can't stop the tears....

Treasure Every Moment

It’s been a sad week with the sudden passing of Heath Ledger and closer to home, my lovely godmother, Agnes Hoareau, slowly succumbing to cancer.

With everything, I hope you can understand and forgive me for the lack of blog entries.

This week has made me realize we should treasure every moment we have because we don’t know what’s around the corner. We may live to one hundred or we might die in the next minute. Tell your parents and siblings you love them, ring your friends and show how much you appreciate them being in your life. Don’t wait until it’s too late and you’re thinking “I should have…”

Okay enough of the doldrums…

The MRWG meeting last Sunday went well and lots of chocolates were eaten in celebration. We spoke about many things including long term goals for 2008 and beyond, and mini goals. Small steps lead to a big achievement. Our members have decided to make a goal for each meeting and try to achieve that goal by the next meeting date. I’m hoping this will work and by year’s end, the MRWG will have many more celebrations.

I’m also taking that attitude with my own life. Small steps lead to big and better things. It’s certainly going to be interesting the next few months.

Keep happy and healthy.
Elvina

I'm Alive (and somewhat kicking!)

Wow – five days have passed since my last post. Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun?

I’m back to work and in truth, it’s been hard. Three weeks of holiday have made me soft. I find myself worn out by the end of the day and the last thing I want to do after a day quoting staircase projects is to spend another few hours writing.

BUT I’m still writing focused even while not in revision mode.

I’m critiquing some fabulous first chapters for friends who’ll be entering the Harlequin Mills and Boon Instant Seduction competition.

The ‘to be read’ pile is slowly diminishing. Yay – free space for more books!

I’m jotting down notes for the pending revisions and the excitement level is slowly building – great motivation to actually start writing and to temporarily silence that dreaded (and evil) ‘internal editor’ that pours doubts onto a writer’s enthusiasm. Who says ‘why bother?’ and ‘who’ll want to read that drivel?’ But I’m trying not to listen to that bothersome pest.

And if that doesn’t work, meeting with a fabulous bunch of lovely, talented writers should blast away any doldrums. I’m Co-ordinator of the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild (MRWG) – http://www.melbournerwg.com/ - a wonderful romance group established in 1991 with around 30 members and continually growing.

We meet once a month and this Sunday is the January meeting. We celebrate our writing achievements with the best reward – chocolate – and in the past five years, we’ve had lots to celebrate. Several members are book, novella and short story published.

I’m sure 2008 will be another great year for the MRWG and its talented members.

Bye for now.
Elvina

Where did the time go?

Today is the last day of my holidays. Where did the time go?
I had plans of what I’d wanted to do but probably managed only a third. Oh, well. There’s always next weekend, or the one after that.

I did manage to reduce the extensive ‘to be read’ pile which included:
“Millionaire to the Rescue” by Ally Blake and
“A Woman to Belong To” by Fiona Lowe

Both wonderful stories by two great writers. Both books were out December 2007, but if you can find a copy, grab it. If not, both Ally and Fiona will have books out during 2008 that you shouldn’t miss.

I’ve started “Purchased for Pleasure” by my wonderful friend Nicola Marsh, and as usual, she has a hunky hero and a sizzling storyline. I can’t wait to finish it.

The next two to be read are “The Boss’s Christmas Baby” by Trish Morey and “The Ex Factor” by Anne Oliver. Both authors are extremely talented and their stories great, so I’m looking forward to their latest.

Apart from books, I did the usual shopping and sightseeing. My aunty and cousin from Seychelles (who I haven’t seen in 20 years) visited for six weeks, so it was fun rediscovering Melbourne with them. It’s amazing to share a person’s delight in something new, especially when you consider that thing standard and mundane.

I bought and watched the third series of Dr. Who – and thoroughly enjoyed drooling over the gorgeous David Tennant. And the storylines were fabulous too!

Also, courtesy of a wonderful friend, I’ve watched the Dr. Who Christmas episode “Voyage of the Damned” with Kylie Minogue. I’ve been truly spoilt.

Wow, reading back over the above, I have been busy. Maybe I need another holiday to recuperate.

Until next time.

HAPPY NEW 2008!

With the New Year comes new intentions and goals.

One - creation of this blog. Something I’ve been thinking about for a long time and never had the guts to do. Who wants to listen to me blabber on about nothing? Well, I’ve done it. And hopefully, I won’t go on and on and on…and bore everyone to tears.

Two - getting my domain name and updating my website. That entails me learning Frontpage (or something similar), so this goal might take a bit longer to complete.

Writing wise goals – there are a few. A few days of holiday time (watching DVDs and reading books…all in the name of research, of course) then I’m back into revision stage.

Silhouette Desire have requested revisions (again) on “The Tycoon’s Toughest Adversary,” so I want to get them done asap and back to Diana at the New York office.

Once that’s done, then it’s back to completing revisions on the follow up book “Take Me in Your Arms,” the partial of which is also with Diana at Silhouette Desire.

Then I have two other books to finish – “Needing You” and “Clause to Contentment.”

And if I have time between all that and selling staircases at Slattery & Acquroff Holdings – http://www.stairking.com.au/ - then I want to revise my paranormal single title “An Angel’s Embrace” and find a home for it.

It sounds like a lot, but hey, if you don’t aim high, you never know what you can achieve.

Other things I’d like to achieve during 2008 is better health through exercise and weight loss (doing well but always can lose more), listening to my body and taking time to relax (as if housework is anyone’s priority!) and enjoying life in general.

2007 taught me some harsh lessons – enjoy each and every day. You never know what’s around the corner, good or bad.

So that’s it for my first post. Hope boredom hasn’t set it. Speak to you soon!